‘Church doesn’t want Duterte to win’

Ardent supporters of Davao City mayor and now aspiring presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte fired back on Wednesday at the leader of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for allegedly being judgmental instead of hearing out the mayor’s explanation on why he cursed Pope Francis during his proclamation speech.

Dante Jimenez, chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and a staunch supporter of Duterte, said Archbishop Socrates Villegas should have personally asked the mayor what he meant with his statement.

“Bishop Villegas really was not able to get the true message of that statement, as a priest he should have asked the mayor first and allowed him to clarify his statement instead of using his position as president of CBCP to criticize Mayor Duterte,” Jimenez told The Manila Times.

The PDP-Laban on Monday formally proclaimed Duterte and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as the party’s official candidates for President and Vice President.

Duterte last week withdrew his certificate of candidacy for reelection and filed a new COC as a substitute for Martin Diño, the original PDP-Laban candidate.

During his invective-filled speech on Monday, the mayor complained about being stuck in a traffic jam during Pope Francis’ visit to Manila in January because of road closures.

In the same event, Duterte also admit to having killed people and of being a womanizer.
Villegas, in reaction, said,“Vulgarity is corruption. When we find vulgarity funny, we have really become beastly and barbaric as a people.”

“When a revered and loved and admired man like Pope Francis is cursed by a political candidate and the audience laugh, I can only bow my head and grieve in great shame. My countrymen have gone to the dregs,” the archbishop added.

Duterte immediately apologized after his statement backfired and drew flak.

He, however, denied cursing the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and said he was venting his frustration at the government.

The mayor said he fully understands the reaction of people who were displeased with his statement.

Jimenez, meanwhile, said the CBCP’s position on Duterte is understandable because he does not expect the Church to say something good about Duterte since it does not want him to win in next year’s elections.

“They [CBCP)] do not want Mayor Duterte to win because he will bring back the death penalty and the Church has been known to oppose it,” he added.

Jimenez went on to accuse Villegas of allowing himself to be a propagandist of politicians particularly of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.

Watch what you say
Malacañang on Wednesday said Duterte should now be “more conscientious” about what he says in public.

“If he’d not mentioned Pope Francis’ name, nothing of this sort would ever arise. So, it’s about being more conscientious of what you say as [a]public official,” its spokesman Edwin Lacierda said also on Wednesday.

‘Man on a horseback’
Despite the adverse impact of Duterte’s statement, the mayor seems to still enjoy strong support from different sectors of society and he will continue to get more support because Filipinos are longing for a leader who could provide solutions to the country’s problems, a political analyst said.

Bobby Tuazon, director for policy studies of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), said after decades of empty promises, many Filipinos are ready for a “man on a horseback” type of leader.

He added that some people may disagree with Duterte’s human rights record or his being a confessed womanizer, but the problems confronting the people, from corruption to poverty and criminality, are just so overwhelming.

“With no concrete solutions in sight, people will ignore a presumptive President’s idiosyncrasies for as long as he’s proven to be a man of action anticipating further that the tough administration he has done for Davao can be replicated throughout the country,” Tuazon pointed out.

He, however, pointed out that Duterte is yet to expound and win over many people to his platform, which includes federalism, an iron-clad rule of law, pluralist politics and final peace agreements with both Muslim rebels and the underground Left.

Tuazon said the traits Duterte has been showing do not necessarily mean that he can be a good and performing President because the people are yet to see whether the mayor can do the job as the nation’s leader.

22 Comments

its about time the voters and people turn their backs on the CBCP. what did the CBCP did anyway to improve the living conditions of the people? none except pray and wait for miracles and tell people to make more babies. CBCP and church are just an illusion creating more poverty than prosperity.

If you weigh Duterte’s mistake against the great Schism (division) happening in the entire Catholic Church with the evil side winning so far and in which side majority of the Philippine prelates are in, anong “K” meron silang maging ganito ka tayog o self-righteous masasalita ?

Gents/Ladies,
Without being rhetoric and emotional, we need to establish what a President should be for our beloved country. Do we want a President who utters foul language? Do we want a President who admits in Television that he’ll kill criminals? Do we want a President who is womanizer? Do we want a President who can not lead his family? Do we want a President who could not dress-up properly? Do we want a President who can not communicate clearly? Do we want a President who keep changing his mind? Do we want a President who will curse another leader in the world?
If your answers are NO, you LOVE God and our country.

So my dear friends, how will you solve the rampant and worsening corruption, crime, and poverty in our country? any solutions? prayers? damn! yes, prayers really saved a lot of people, imagine we’ve been praying for peace and amelioration of the conditions of the poor, justice, since I was born that is, but did we have any of these prayers answered? NO, NO! it is because we are what we want to be. We want peace, we work for it, not pray. We want justice, we work for it, not pray. we want to alleviate proverty, we work for it even in small steps, not pray. What did the CDCP say? duterte bashed the pope, duterete is a womanizer, what else? What about the rapes done by the good priests? What about the corruption within the walls of the Vatican that is tightly vaulted so no one would even know it? pope francis was placed there to make some changes because membership is declining every year. he has a lot of work to do. People are getting more educated, become wiser, and question the facts. Religion is a business, a very good tax free business. So why didn’t the CDCP bash the dap and the pdaf? and all the funds for the typhoon that was never fully applied to where it should be applied? Where is fairness and justice? None, because the existing system is corrupt to the bone, almost everyone has blood on his h ands. if duterte rule with an iron fist for justice and fairness and with a sincere effort for equality and peace, how hard it is for everyone to understand that that is what we need right now, as in today? he is a womanizer, who cares, that is consentual, no crime is committed. try those other politicians, rich, respectable men, married men who are cheating on their wives and pretend to be clean and over and above the sinners. My ass, they are a bunchy of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and people are so naïve to believe and trust them. that is why there is no change in our country, people are taken by pieces of gold, by lies, by social standing. we must, all of us must, work for the betterment of our country, not look at the personal mistakes and errors, because we all make errors. we all make mistakes. everyone has a skeleton in his closet. let he who is without sin, cast the first stone, tight? is the cdcp without sin? oh, I would never believe that. So, how much did the politicians donate to cdcp? from the Yolanda funds? these people should not even say anything about politics, if they are offended with the way duterte joked on the pope, they should tell duterte because that should be personal, not a matter of politics. he was attacking how the government handled it, not attacking the pope.

The justice system is the biggest problem. Due process should be shortened so everybody gets justice. Bring back death penalty. Have a review of judges decision to solve lagay system in the justice dept. also the Catholic church must must immediately stop meddling in politics. They are acting like a pseudo government. The totality is our country is suffering from very bad management from top to bottom.

Saddam of davao? bakit … how you really know Davao City and its people? how much you really know our mayor? … his been our mayor for 30 years… and we never feel that we are under a tyrant rule… we can walk safe at night without fear of being rob.. we can use our smartphones or any gadgets,on streets on any part of davao city even on jeepneys without fear of robbers.. we have 911 service for free…our taxi is safe… masasabi mo ba yan sa lugar?…. Im proud and glad that we have him as our mayor…. we from Davao ..are proud of our city… SO DONT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU DONT KNOW!!!!…. MGA KRIMINAL LANG ANG TAKOT AT HINDI GUSTO SI MAYOR DUTERTE.

Why don’t these ardent supporters just kill the good bishop? After all, aren’t they fans of extrajudicial killings by supporting Duterte? Don’t they have the guts to kill everyone who stands in their way? And while they do that, why don’t they plan out the assassination of the “Priest child molesters” Duterte is talking about?

That’s the world they’re gonna live in anyway if Duterte’s gonna become the President.

You said, “Dante Jimenez, chairman of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and a staunch supporter of Duterte, said Archbishop Socrates Villegas should have personally asked the mayor what he meant with his statement.”. Jimenez must be crazy or low IQ to say these statements. Even an ordinary Filipino understand how arrogant Duterte is. Nobody can tell him that he’s wrong because he thinks that he is God. Lucifer wants to be equal if not more than God. That’s how Duterte is. Duterte is bragging to the whole world his two wives, two girlfriends – what is he trying to imply with? That he is a goodlooking (ilong na kamatis), playboy? He can have two wives and two girlfriends because of his position, money and harassing looks. It’s not the church who does not want Duterte to win but majority of the Catholics who have MORAL values. In addition, the “cursing words” of Duterte (and apologize to being an arrogant) to the Pope is now the downfall of Duterte. To my fellow Filipinos, please don’t give a chance or risk for this person and his family to reside in Malacanang. Please pray to save the Philippines from Duterte (the devil-Lucifer) and Binay ( the corrupt).

Which or who is immoral? Duterte, who made Davao City, a very efficient gov city and a safe place free of drug addicts and criminals or Aquinos, Ramos or Arroyo who made our country’s few elites richer than ever and the ordinary Filipinos poorer living in fear of criminals and drug addicts and what is our church say about this?

Anong Davao lang? Naga City and Marikina made it using the rule of law and not dictatorship. Sino ba ang nagpapagalaw sa kanya? Hindi nya magagawa magisa sa Davao yan. Just look for them and you will be surprised.

ASK “DABAWENYO’S” IF WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE ABOUT DUTERTE’S DICTATORSHIP. We the people of Davao city knows more about our mayor than you people who just know him from media reports who over coat there reports… try living in Davao city if what you say is true… I’ve been a resident in this City ever since he is the mayor… for 30 years now.. and we never felt secured than any other place in the Philippines.

REPLY
That is also waht the admirers of Stalin and Hitler said about their country. Of course if yu kill all your enemies there will be peace for you–but grief and fear for those you do not like.
Bakit nagawa ni Gordon sa Olongapo at Subic yan–without having to kill criminals and troublesome street children?

What is the CBCP which is headed by Villegas saying regarding the despicable PCOS ? The congregation of Bishops is even divided in this issue. There are a few enlightened bishops (like Bishop Pabillo, Arguelles, etc,) who have been vehemently against it for many years. But majority of the CBCP members including Villegas are so eerily silent about it. They are more alarmed with Duterte’s uncouth behavior than the PCOS which has completely destroyed the country’s democracy ? Villegas together with some 80 priests were briefed on the serious ills of the PCOS just a few weeks ago and what is their official reaction so far ? A resounding SILENCE !!!!